Republicans Surge to the Polls in Wisconsin

A good rule of thumb in politics is that voters go where the action is. Contested primaries will generate far more interest than those where there is no race. This is especially true in states like Wisconsin, which have “open” primaries, where any voter can choose where they’ll cast their vote. With a contentious primary fueled by millions of dollars in spending, it was widely expected that turnout in yesterday’s Democrat primary in Wisconsin would easily trump the GOP turnout. It didn’t happen that way.

Scott Walker, facing no real competition, won over 600,000 votes in yesterday’s primary. His vote total was just about equal to ALL the votes cast in the competitive Democrat primary. This shouldn’t have happened. It suggests that, going into next month’s recall vote, Walker has a solid base of support, while Democrats face a serious enthusiasm gap. Looks like Big Labor wasted another few million of its members’ money.

For those keeping score at home, let’s recap: Big Labor spent millions to support their preferred candidate, Kathleen Falk, only to see her lose by 18 points. The winner of the Democrat primary, Tom Barrett, refused to participate in a ‘unity rally’ because he worried about being too associated with Big Labor. And, Big Labor’s chief nemesis, Scott Walker, attracted at least as much support as all the Democrat candidates combined. Even though he wasn’t in a competitive race.

Big Labor likes to pretend that voters want an ever-expanding government, bestowing generous benefits on its workers. They rock themselves to sleep at night with thoughts that voters are in “solidarity” with their interests. But, however true that may once have been, those days are over. Big Labor can’t even win a Democrat primary these days.

Its going to be a long, hot summer for Big Labor after they lose the recall in June.